Alessandro De Carli

Material and energy recovery in integrated waste management systems: A life-cycle costing approach

A critical assumption of studies assessing comparatively waste management options concerns the constant average cost for selective collection regardless the source separation level (SSL) reached, and the neglect of the mass constraint. The present study compares alternative waste management scenarios through the development of a desktop model that tries to remove the above assumption. Several alternative scenarios based on different combinations of energy and materials recovery are applied to two imaginary areas modelled in order to represent a typical Northern Italian setting. External costs and benefits implied by scenarios are also considered. Scenarios are compared on the base of the full cost for treating the total waste generated in the area. The model investigates the factors that influence the relative convenience of alternative scenarios.

I costi economici della siccità: il caso del Po

The economic valuation of droughts: the 2003 event in the Po basin - In the summer 2002, an exceptional drought has occurred in the Po basin, normally characterized by very abundant available resources, that have encouraged a very intensive use of water resources. In order to recover an acceptable flow, the Basin Authority has obliged upstream hydropower plants to release higher quantities and also reduced the allowed abstractions for irrigation. This study analyzes the economic impact of the event on irrigation and energy sectors; alternative scenarios are then examined, in which water is allocated to the most productive uses. The resulting total cost is significantly lower.

Hydropower production and environmental regulation: opting for a performance-based tax approach

This paper discusses the case for reforming the actual mechanism for charging water abstractions for hydropower production in Italy and proposes to introduce a performance-based environmental fee. This should be able, on the one hand, to internalize the environmental costs that hydropower production causes and, on the other, to stimulate producers to opt for more environment-friendly management of hydropower plants. We think, in fact, that the re-issue of several expired hydropower concessions represents an opportunity to redefine the taxation system to which hydropower is currently subject to, in order to introduce finally a form of environmental taxation coherent with the Water Framework Directive. In particular, the proposed fee is a real environmental tax, as it aims at changing the environmentally impacting behavior by increasing the marginal cost of damaging river ecosystems. Therefore, it is equitable, as it does not tax all producers the same way, but according to the impacts that their production generates. Finally, it is immediately applicable, as it is based on the successful experience of performance-based regulation in several other sectors.

La valutazione economica delle politiche idriche : dall'efficienza alla sostenibilità

Il presente saggio si innesta nel filone di ricerca che, negli ultimi 15 anni, ha cercato di rendere operativo il concetto di sostenibilita. Partendo dal concetto di sostituibilita tra capitale naturale e capitale artificiale, si propone di dare una definizione operativa della sostenibilita applicata alle politiche idriche, scindendola nei tre assi fondamentali: ambientale, economico-finanziaria e sociale. Dopo aver mostrato i limiti degli approcci tradizionali alla misurazione della sostenibilita, richiamando due esperienze di ricerca europee, si propone uno schema di indicatori coerente con la definizione data. L’analisi evidenzia la centralita della dimensione economico-finanziaria, cruciale per la fattibilita economica e l’accettabilita sociale delle politiche idriche. L’applicazione dell’idea di sostenibilita comporta innovazioni di grande portata nella politica idrica, non solo nei suoi obiettivi e strumenti, ma nelle forme stesse della sua formulazione e dei suoi meccanismi di governance.

Two birds with one stone: improving ecological quality and flood protection through river restoration in Northern Italy

This paper outlines the results a multi-criteria evaluation study applied to the integrated assessment of flood protection options in Northern Italy. The study aims at comparing advantages and disadvantage of a more traditional approach based on hard infrastructure calibrated on the event with a return time of 200 years (TR200) with a more innovative approach based on a combination of non-structural measures, controlled flooding of lower-value areas and mitigation. These are now standard in Northern Europe and elsewhere; however their feasibility has never been investigated in the Italian context. Despite the study is still at a pioneering level, it authorizes some optimistic evaluation about the desirability of non-structural remedies in Italy. The study argues about the necessity of complementary measures, especially based on compensative payments for ecosystem services, in order to improve social acceptance for such practices.